1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wiring harness subunit arranged on a plate-shaped base member mounted on a vehicle such as an interior panel attached to a ceiling inside the vehicle, to a wiring harness unit having the wiring harness subunit and the base member, and to a method for assembling the wiring harness unit. Particularly, the present invention relates to the wiring harness subunit, the wiring harness unit, and the method of assembling the wiring harness unit, each having a wiring harness extended through an outer edge of the base member, and connected to an outer electric component.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various electric components such as a car navigation system, an audio instrument, lamps, and the like are mounted on a vehicle. These electric components are supplied with power from a power source such as a battery and send/receive control signals to/from an electronic control unit via a wiring harness arranged inside a vehicle. The wiring harness is formed by bundling a plurality of electric wires.
Conventionally, the wiring harness is directly attached to a vehicle body and wired in a vehicle assembling process. Therefore, when attaching the wiring harness, after the wiring harness is arranged along a predetermined wiring position, the wiring harness is fixed at a plurality of positions with tapes or brackets. Therefore, workability is not good, and it requires a long time for fixing, thereby operating cost is increased. Further, in particular, when attaching the wiring harness onto the ceiling inside a vehicle, a worker is postured up, and the workability is further reduced.
Therefore, for example, a wiring harness unit composed of a wiring harness and a base member such as an interior panel to be attached to a ceiling of a vehicle is assembled in an another process. Then, by attaching the wiring harness unit to the ceiling, the wiring harness and the base member are simultaneously attached to the ceiling. Thus, workability in a vehicle assembling process is increased, and the operating cost is reduced.
For an example, as shown in FIG. 6, a wiring harness unit 601 includes: a top seal 610 as a base member; a wiring harness 620; and tapes 630, 640 as an attaching member. The top seal 610 is attached to a ceiling inside a vehicle. The wiring harness 620 includes: a branch line 621 having a tip end part 622 and a base end part 623; and a not-shown main line. A connector 626 to be connected to an outer electric component is provided at a tip end of the branch line 621. The tip end part 622 is extended through an outer edge 610b of the top seal 610. An end part 623a of the base end part 623 near the tip end part 622 is fixed to a top wall 610a of the top seal 610 with the tape 630. Further, the other end part 623b of the base end part 623 far from the tip end part 622 is fixed to the top wall 610a with the tape 640. Further, the not-shown main line is fixed to the top wall 610a with a not-shown tape. In the wiring harness unit 601, because the wiring harness 620 is fixed to the top seal 610, the top seal 610 and the wiring harness 620 are simultaneously attached to the ceiling. Therefore, the workability is increased, and the operation cost is reduced.
For another example, as shown in FIG. 7, a wiring harness unit 701 disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes: a roof lining 708 as the base member; a wiring harness 709; a plurality of harness holding members 710; and a plurality of resin members 711. The roof lining 708 is attached to a ceiling inside a vehicle. The wiring harness 709 includes: a branch line 709a; and a main line 709b. The branch line 709a is branched from the main line 709b. A connector 720 to be connected to an outer electric component is provided at a tip end of the branch line 709a. A tip end part of the branch line 709a is extended through an outer edge of the roof lining 708. The harness holding members 710 are provided at a bending position and at a branch position of the wiring harness 709. The wiring harness 709 is held by the harness holding members 710, and partially fixed to the roof lining 708 with the resin members 711. Like the wiring harness unit 601, using the wiring harness unit 701, the workability is increased, and the operation cost is reduced.
[Patent Document 1] JP, A, No. 2000-335329
A length of a wiring harness arranged in a vehicle may be changed due to heat or the like. Therefore, a predetermined tolerance is added to the length for producing the wiring harness. However, because the wiring harness of the wiring harness unit as described above is fixed to the base member with tapes or resin members, the position of the wiring harness cannot be moved. Therefore, when the branch line having the minimum tolerance is assembled, the branch line may run out of length and it may be difficult to connect the connector at the tip end of the branch line with the outer electric component. Further, when the branch line has the maximum tolerance, a surplus length may exist, the branch line may be curved in the middle, and it may be difficult to assemble a decoration cover for covering the branch line. Namely, there is a problem that the workability is reduced due to an influence of the tolerance. Further, in the wiring harness unit 701 as described above, when the resin members 711 are not provided, the position of the wiring harness 709 can be moved, and an extending length of the branch line 709a can be adjusted a little. However, in addition to the branch line 709a, the main line 709b may be also moved. Thus, there is another problem that in the other branch lines 709a, a disconnection or the like may occur.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a wiring harness subunit, a wiring harness unit, and a method for assembling the wiring harness unit to allow an extended length from an outer edge of a base member to be adjusted.